Holy Living Exemplified - 1 Peter 2:1-12

by David Woods

How we use words is very important. Maybe you have heard the commercials offering to help you speak better and learn more words so that you can succeed in life.

When you go from one field of life to another, you will be introduced to many new words - or maybe to definitions of words that are different from how you've always used that word.

There is an internet computer game that I play on occasion. It is a space simulator type game. You join up on teams and fly in fighters, bombers, interceptors, and other ships fighting one another.

Interceptors are a very powerful ship and when you rush as a team to different areas with interceptors you can easily overwhelm the opposition.

There is a term that is used to describe those kind of attacks. I won't repeat it here, however, for it is not a very nice term.

We Christians have a lot of words that unbelievers do not understand. One of those words is on our church sign - holiness.

Holiness means many different things, depending on who you are talking to. One person might picture "Holy Rollers." Another thinks it is speaking in tongues. Another person might think in terms of drawing very close to God.

What does it mean to be holy? Simply defined:

Big Idea: To be holy is to be set apart for God.

But what does this mean? What does it mean to be set apart for God? Our text in 1 Peter 2 is not an exhaustive discussion of holiness, however, I find three defining characteristics of holy people in these verses.

1. The Holy Person has a Desire for God's Word, vv. 1-3.

I am going to ask a couple of questions that may seem very obvious, but I want us to think about these questions.

Discussion: Why should the Christian give up all his sinful ways?

Discussion: Why does the Christian live differently than he did as a sinner?

Read 1 John 3:6, 8, 9

Verse two says that we should desire the sincere milk of the Word. The scripture comments says, "The Word of God is that unadulterated spiritual mil, essential to the newborn Christian. It becomes 'strong meat' to the more mature." (p. 51)

Discussion: In your experience, what have you found that spoils your appetite for God's Word?

Discussion: Verse three talks about God being gracious to us. How has God been good to you lately?

2. The Holy Person has the Designation as being one of God's people, vv. 4-10.

List: I would like us to list all the descriptions of the Christian in verses four through ten.

These verses call us a "chosen generation." We who were "not a people" are now "the people of God."

Discussion: What do these verses teach us about how we should view ourselves?

3. The Holy Person gives a Deposition as God's witness, vv. 11-12.

Discussion: What does it mean for the Christian to be called a stranger and a pilgrim? What kind of relationship does this imply that the Christian should have to the world?

Discussion: With this in mind, what value should the Christian place on things in this world? (Cars, boats, clothes, equipment, etc) What should be our highest priority?

Discussion: What does it mean to "abstain?" Does it mean you have to stop totally or can you do whatever it is you are told to abstain from discreetly?

Discussion: What is the difference between fleshly lusts and normal, physical appetites?

Discussion: If fleshly lusts "war against [our] soul," what kind of relationship should we have toward fleshly lusts?
(Bro. Richard Gremillion, who was the evangelist at Harmony Hill Youth Camp 2002, told us that we are our own worst enemy. Truly, we are. We can destroy ourselves - by making the wrong choice. He told the story of a bank robbery in which one man hid in the closet during the day and at night let in two more men. He likened the two outside men as the devil and the world. The inside man was the carnal nature. It was an inside job. But victory is also an inside job. We must betray the carnal man.)

Discussion: Why is it important to live a sincere life?

Discussion: What is happening here where it says that the Gentiles, by looking at our sincere lifestyle, glorify God? What is happening to the non-Christian?